Virtual repository content model

• US 7,483,904 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2003
• Issued: 01/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Owen, James, Choe, Chang
• Primary Examiner(s): ALAM, SHAHID AL
• Application Number:
  US10/618,519
• Publication Number:
  US 20040167920A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,027 Days
• Field of Search: 707/102, 707/200, 707/10, 707/8, 707/3, 707/4, 707/101, 707/104.1, 707/201, 707/204, 713/100, 715/700, 726/17
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users

Abstract

A memory for storing data for access by an application program being executed on a computer system, comprising a data structure stored in said memory, the data structure including or referring to a name, a content repository identifier, a property, a property definition, and wherein the data structure is logically part of a virtual content repository (VCR), and wherein the VCR represents at least one content repository.

Claims

1. A storage medium for storing data for access by an application program being executed on a computer system, comprising:

a first object stored in the medium to provide a first group of services related to interacting with a hierarchical namespace;

a second object stored in the medium to provide a second group of services related to associating information with the first object;

a third object stored in the medium to provide a third group of services related to describing attributes of the second object, wherein the third group of services include a schema that is inheritable by a child object that provides a group of services related to describing attributes of an object related to the child object;

wherein the first object is logically part of a virtual content repository (VCR) and includes a reference to a parent object in the virtual content repository (VCR) that enables traversal of the virtual content repository (VCR) and a path that uniquely specifies the first object'"'"'s location in the virtual content repository (VCR), and wherein the virtual content repository (VCR) represents, using an application program interface (API), a plurality of content repositories logically as a single content repository encompassing the plurality of content repositories from the application program'"'"'s standpoint;

wherein each content repository in the plurality of content repositories implements a service provider interface (SPI) including a set of interfaces and services to plug the plurality of content repositories into the virtual content repository (VCR); and

wherein the API and the SPI share a content model that represents content of the plurality of content repositories as a hierarchical namespace of nodes.

2. The storage medium of claim 1 wherein the first group of services comprises:

first functions that enable associating the first object with a location in the namespace.

3. The storage medium of claim 1 wherein the second group of services comprises:

second functions that enable creating, reading, updating and deleting the information.

4. The storage medium of claim 1 wherein the third group of services comprises:

third functions that enable specifying at least one of the following for the second object;

information choices;

a reference;

an information type;

whether the information is mandatory;

whether the information is multi-valued;

whether the information is primary;

whether the information is read-only; and

whether the information is restricted.

5. The storage medium of claim 1 further comprising:

a fourth object to specify a location of the first object in the namespace.

6. The storage medium of claim 5 wherein the fourth object includes:

a content repository name; and

a content identifier that is unique for one of the plurality of content repositories.

7. The storage medium of claim 1 further comprising:

a fifth object to provide a fifth set of services related to searching the virtual content repository (VCR).

8. The storage medium of claim 1 wherein:

the second object associates a name and at least one value; and

wherein the at least one value can be stored in one of the plurality of content repositories.

9. The storage medium of claim 1 wherein:

the at least one value can be a text string, a number, an image, an audio/visual presentation, or binary data.

10. The storage medium of claim 1 wherein:

the first object is hierarchically related to other objects and the plurality of content repositories.

11. The storage medium of claim 1 wherein:

there is no second object.

12. The storage medium of claim 1 further comprising:

a sixth object to provide a sixth group of services related to configuring the virtual content repository (VCR).